Fire forced a suspect from a home, ending a nearly 12-hour standoff in El Dorado County where a SWAT team deployed gas munitions and used a robot.

"Deputies deployed numerous fire extinguishers at the same time as calling for fire personnel, who was already staged nearby," Sheriff John D'Agostini said in a statement Friday.

"The fire quickly spread through the bedroom as officers yelled for the (suspect) to exit."

The man, who eventually walked outside, was taken by an air ambulance from Placerville to an undisclosed hospital.

Citing the ongoing investigation, the sheriff did not identify the man.

The fire's cause is not immediately known.

The standoff began about 11:30 a.m. Thursday when deputies tried to serve an arrest warrant in the 2200 block of Cold Springs Road, Placerville. A man in the home was wanted on charges involving felony domestic violence, the sheriff said.

"When deputies attempted to contact him, he refused to exit the residence," D'Agostini said in the statement Friday. "At one point, he came outside for a brief moment with a knife and said he was going to kill himself."

During the standoff, crisis negotiators tried to contact the man on the telephone, the sheriff said. They also threw a second phone into the home.

"After continuing to receive no response for several hours, SWAT deployed gas munitions hoping the male would comply," D'Agostini said.

"The (man) still refused to answer the phone or make any contact with deputies. Fearing (he) still had the knife, SWAT did not make entry into the residence."

About 11 p.m. Thursday, a robot found the man hiding in a bedroom closet.

"He was asked numerous times to exit the residence but still he refused," D'Agostini said.

About 11:30 p.m., deputies noticed a small fire in the bedroom of where the man was hiding, the sheriff said.

"Fire personnel were able to prevent any damage to surrounding properties," D'Agostini said. "However, it appeared the residence sustained significant damage."